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LAST NIGHT – THE REELECT COMES TO CHICAGO – President Barack Obama touted his accomplishments in office and went on offense against the GOP at a series of events in his home city, accusing Republicans of trying to turn the United States into a “nation of potholes.” The Sun Times’s Abdon Pallasch: “Obama told friends and donors at the high-end N9NE restaurant in the West Loop. Obama defended his record and warned how far the country could fall if Republicans re-take the White House and seniors could no longer afford health care: ‘Under their vision, we can’t invest in roads and bridges and broadband and high speed rail,’ Obama said.” POLITICO’s Mike Allen: “The campaign’s main message in these early days is that supporters need to generate the opening wave of grassroots excitement, without relying on the president to fire up supporters personally, as he was able to do in 2008. ‘Over the next three months, six months, nine months, I’m going to be a little preoccupied,’ he told donors at the first of three Chicago fundraisers … The trio of fundraisers raked in about $2 million.” http://bit.ly/fxlsrl and http://politi.co/ez3rEi

POPPING AT THE RNC – JMART SCOOPS – “The Republican National Committee hosted dozens of Washington's top GOP lobbyists for a briefing meant to reach out to a constituency that had little regard for Michael Steele. RNC Chairman Reince Priebus made the case for the K Street crowd to get involved and made his pitch about restoring trust and credibility to the national party, according to sources present. He also emphasized the need for dollars to help the RNC dig out of its mountain of debt and fund a ground game for 2012. Said one attendee: ‘I have not seen a gathering like this at the RNC since when [Ed] Gillespie was chair.’ Lobbyists present included: Bill Paxon, Dirk Van Dongen, Ken Duberstein, Susan Hirschmann, Rick Hohlt, Dan Meyer, Jeff Kimbell, Kirk Blalock, and Rob Nichols.”

FIRST IN SCORE – MANCHIN ON THE TRAIL – West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin is off to a solid start in his bid to win a full six-year term in 2012, raising $529,000 this year and saving up $861,000 in the bank. That money goes a long way in a Mountain State campaign – by comparison, Manchin raised a total of $4.4 million in the course of his special election campaign last year. The Democrat’s cash total might not be enough to scare off challengers, but he’s also putting boots on the ground early in his home state. Manchin spent 20 days in West Virginia in the first quarter and representatives of Manchin’s office visited all 55 counties in the state. (The former governor also spent nine days abroad on a congressional delegation to Afghanistan, Pakistan, Israel and other Mideast destinations.)

HOUSE EXCLUSIVE I – SHOW OF FORCE –Illinois Rep. Peter Roskam raised more than $430,000 in the first quarter of the year and now has $1.44 million stockpiled in his campaign account, according to a source familiar with Roskam’s financial report. That puts the congressman in a commanding financial position ahead of what’s expected to be a tough redistricting process for Illinois Republicans. Roskam, who serves as the House GOP’s chief deputy whip, will be well prepared if the Democratic legislature draws him into the same district as another Republican incumbent.

HOUSE EXCLUSIVE II – THE ONE YOU’VE BEEN WAITING FOR – Florida Rep. Allen West, the rock-star fundraiser of the freshman clash, took in a Roskam-like $430,000 in the first three months of 2011. That puts West ahead of his two announced Democratic challengers: West Palm Beach Mayor Lois Frankel, who raised $254,000; and businessman Patrick Murphy, who pumped $350,000 into his campaign. The fire-breathing West is in for a challenging reelection fight next year and he’ll have to rev up the same fundraising machine that vacuumed up $6.5 million last cycle.

FRIDAY STANDINGS – BETTER OFF NOW? The government shutdown has officially been averted. The fight over the Ryan budget is about to heat up. The Ames straw poll is less than four months away. Here’s Morning Score’s take on how some of the top pols and organizations should answer the question: Are you better off now than you were seven days ago?

BETTER OFF: (1) Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, who unveiled his presidential exploratory committee smoothly, absorbed a predictable set of jabs from his opponents and the media, and is now free to begin raising an eye-popping sum of money this quarter; (2) DCCC Chairman Steve Israel, who announced that his committee had reduced its debt to $8 million – the same level as the NRCC – in a feat that looked extraordinarily daunting when Israel came into the job; (3) National Public Radio and Planned Parenthood, which will remain federally supported at least for the remainder of FY2011, thanks to the budget deal that passed yesterday with bipartisan support.

WORSE OFF: (1) Vice President Joe Biden, whose asleep-at-the-speech moment was his highest-profile appearance in a very important news week; (2) Florida Gov. Rick Scott, whose approval ratings have been at or below 35 percent in three consecutive public polls now, with no survey showing his net approval better than negative 13 percent; (3) The NBC legal department, which can't – or shouldn't – be happy about Donald Trump's announcement that he may use the "Celebrity Apprentice" season finale to promote his presidential ambitions.

BREAKING IN WISCONSIN – PROSSER’S ENDGAME – Wisconsin election authorities are poised to complete their full canvass of the results in last week’s contentious Supreme Court race, and incumbent Justice David Prosser is already moving to head off a recount.. In a statement to Score, Prosser attorney Ben Ginsberg said it’s “time to move on.” “The bottom line is that Justice David Prosser’s vote margin is too great to change in a recount, as the history of votes changed in other recounts over the last 20 years shows,” Ginsberg said. “JoAnne Kloppenburg’s seeking a recount now would only cost the state resources it cannot afford and will not change the result.” Democrats have declared they will challenge 14,000 votes recorded late in Waukesha County, which appear to have put the conservative Prosser over the top. The Prosser camp has prepared a document showing that the judge’s apparent victory margin of 7,000-plus votes far exceeds the normal corrections in a recount. See it here: http://politi.co/hLx79W

THE 2012 SCORE – ROMNEY TO FLORIDA – The newly sorta-declared presidential candidate won an endorsement Thursday from Florida Rep. Connie Mack, a supporter of Romney’s 2008 campaign who’s coming back for more. And as Romney heads to the Sunshine State this weekend, he took to the pages of the Orlando Sentinel to pen an op-ed praising the tea party movement: “Almost 21/2 centuries after the original Boston Tea Party of 1773, the idea of limited government that inspired our forebears is very much alive … Thanks to the Tea Party, there's real hope that we can rein in our profligate federal government.” http://bit.ly/dKChgv

AND – PALIN TO MADISON: The former Alaska governor will headline an Americans for Prosperity rally in the Wisconsin capital Saturday, two days before federal taxes are due. The Journal Sentinel: “Handlers for the former Republican vice presidential candidate confirmed Thursday that Palin agreed to be one of several speakers at the noontime rally at the state Capitol, said Matt Seaholm, Wisconsin state director for Americans for Prosperity. Seaholm said he expects Palin, the former Alaska governor, to speak for 10 to 15 minutes.” http://bit.ly/f40Pib

COURTING N.H. – WELCOME TO THE GUN SHOW: Haley Barbour and a small mob of reporters visited a firearm shop in Hooksett yesterday, where the Mississippian declared: “I feel very at home here.” POLITICO’s Andy Barr: “Barbour’s appearance here followed a meet-and-greet with Republican activists and a closed-door session with local elected officials the night before. Once satisfied that the press had enough pictures and video of Barbour holding firearms Thursday, his aides — including New Hampshire operative Michael Dennehy and the governor’s well-connected nephew Henry Barbour — convened a quick question and answer session.” The Globe’s Glen Johnson: “The visit to Riley's Gun Shop in Hooksett underscored not only Barbour's support for Second Amendment freedoms, but also his affinity for the ideals embraced in the lead presidential primary state.” http://politi.co/g2YlDP and http://bo.st/gzOJTc

ELSEWHERE IN THE STATE – Tim Pawlenty embraced his low national profile and humble roots in a visit to Nashua, the Telegraph reports: “Acknowledging that he is not as well known as business magnate Donald Trump and former vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin, among other rumored candidates, Pawlenty shared his background with the audience. ‘I grew up in a meatpacking town,’ he said. ‘My dad was a truck driver. My mom was a homemaker’ … [V]oters will welcome [Pawlenty] back with open arms, they said. ‘He isn’t too well known yet, but once people hear him speak, I think they’ll like him,’ said [Tony] Pellegrino, of Merrimack.” http://bit.ly/hKrCsK

NOTED ON THE TWITTER – From Democratic pollster @ppppolls: “The Republican part of our national poll...o boy...some more big numbers for Trump tomorrow” That means today! http://bit.ly/h4Z76S

IT’S ON IN NEVADA – BERKLEY VS. HELLER – Democratic Rep. Shelley Berkley jumped into the race for Nevada’s open Senate seat Thursday, setting up a clash of the titans between the Las Vegas lawmaker and GOP Rep. Dean Heller. The Las Vegas Sun: “Berkley will face one well-funded primary opponent: attorney Byron Georgiou, who has so far put $500,000 of his own money into his campaign, raising a total of $1.1 million in the first quarter. Unless party leaders can convince Georgiou otherwise, Berkley will be forced to spend money to win the primary before facing Heller in the general election. If the race between Berkley and Heller proceeds as expected, voters will see the sharp contrasts in their styles as candidates, political bases, and votes on issues before Congress.” Read on: http://bit.ly/ga7bQe

MURRAY’S ON BOARD – “DSCC showing its cards in primaries” – POLITICO’s David Catanese: “Washington Sen. Patty Murray, chair of the DSCC, said Thursday the committee was fully behind Rep. Shelley Berkley's campaign in Nevada, suggested it might endorse Rep. Martin Heinrich in New Mexico and expressed excitement about Rep. Chris Murphy's bid in Connecticut. Berkley and Murphy already have Democratic opponents, and Heinrich is expected to draw at least one in State Auditor Hector Balderas in the coming weeks. But Murray refuted the notion that the blessing from her committee could come back to haunt their candidates, much like it harmed some GOP establishment favorites in 2010. ‘I don't have the NRSC's problem. I don't have bloody primaries in half of our tough races,’ Murray told reporters.” http://politi.co/hpKQ6B

ONE MORE FROM NEVADA – LIPPOLD’S IN: Kirk Lippold, the former commander of the U.S.S. Cole, announced a bid for Dean Heller’s open House seat Thursday, challenging former state Assemblywoman Sharron Angle for the GOP nomination. The Review-Journal: “Both Angle and Lippold are likely to attract support from the GOP's conservative wing and as outsider candidates. Republican Party leaders in Nevada and at the national level are hoping Lt. Gov. Brian Krolicki seeks Heller's seat … Lippold was the commanding officer of the USS Cole when it was attacked by an al-Qaida suicide bomber in the port of Aden, Yemen, on Oct. 12, 2000.” http://bit.ly/f1SeT3

THE COMEBACK CAROL – RETURN ENGAGEMENT: Former New Hampshire Rep. Carol Shea Porter is challenging GOP Rep. Frank Guinta for the congressional seat he took from her last year. AP: “Though Guinta, the former mayor of Manchester, was dogged throughout the campaign by questions about his personal finances, he kept the focus on the issues, contrasting his record of enacting Manchester's first tax cut in a decade with what he called Shea-Porter's failure to protect small businesses. In her message, Shea-Porter said she wants to continue working for what she calls the ‘bottom 99 percent of Americans.’” http://bo.st/e7QJfg

TAKE THAT ENDORSEMENT AND … Rhode Island Gov. Lincoln Chafee, the Republican-turned-independent who backed Barack Obama for president in2 008, may not support the president a second time next year. Chafee also told WPRI’s Ted Nesi that he might run for reelection as a Democrat in 2014: “The next gubernatorial election is ‘a long way away’ and running as a Democrat ‘would be a hard step, just because of history,’ Chafee said … Chafee endorsed Barack Obama for president in 2008, a year after he left the Republican Party. Obama repaid Chafee last fall by pointedly declining to endorse Democrat Frank Caprio in their gubernatorial race – the impetus for Caprio’s infamous ‘shove it’ comment. But Chafee says he hasn’t made up his mind yet about whether to endorse Obama again in 2012 – because of his administration’s foreign policy.” http://bit.ly/g1HEaW

CODA – QUOTE OF THE DAY: “That was not me – that was my press person” – Arizona Sen. Jon Kyl, distancing himself from the infamous “not intended to be a factual statement” statement http://politi.co/eULcP7